K.Mandla's blog of Linux experiences

The GUI Fan Club

I’m not an avid proponent of terminalless systems, but I concede that there are some people who would rather live without it. If you’re one of those people (I am not) then you might be interested in a thread I found while screening tutorials for the Tutorial of the Week (you do know about that, don’t you?).

This is the GUI Fan Club, which isn’t really a club so much as a long list of ways to avoid using the terminal. Some of the tips are rather esoteric (like how to rapid scroll in Synaptic 😕 ) but others are substitutions for terminal commands in the shape of GUI interfaces, which allow you to get the same thing done, without lifting your hand from the mouse.

I will admit there are some good ideas on that list, and if I didn’t have a gut-level revulsion to the thought of a terminalless system, I might actually try a few. But aside from that comment, I think I will try not to prejudice anyone who might be looking for ideas on a fully graphical Linux system.

So take a look, and see if anything there appeals to you. Remember, you can take away ideas from any experience, and put them to work for yourself. That is what it means to be an eclectic. 😉

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2 thoughts on “The GUI Fan Club”

Maybe it’s just me, but using a Unix system and trying to avoid the command line is like using Windows and trying to avoid using a GUI. You can do it but then you are missing the best part of the operating system.

I guess it could be useful for people’s signatures in Absolute Beginners Talk in UF, because most of the time people post terminal commands as support because it’s easier, but the user may walk away thinking you _need_ a terminal in Linux, which isn’t exactly true.